More Israel Pictures...

Yes, I went back to Israel. It was fun to go back again so quickly after the first trip. I didn't take nearly as many photos because I was very busy leading this group of families! So...here are some of the best shots from my trip (although I didn't get permission for the people so a lot of the pics couldn't be put up here)...

This one that I love...it's even the background on my phone now:-) and I posted it the other day...

This is the wall of the Temple Mount, taken looking straight up. The wall is so high, the stones so large...it just boggles my mind how it was made.

Purim celebrations in the Old City of Jerusalem. This is part of the Cardo, an ancient corridor through the Old City. These ancient stones were really brought alive by all the kids running and screaming and playing....the loud music playing, the food, the games, all of it...having shaving cream fights...it was so fascinating to see this area which is usually empty save tourists filled with the residents of the Old City!

And here are some more ancient stones, the Kotel or Western Wall, juxtaposed against other Purim costumes.

Read more about my trip here and here and here and here.

See more pictures here!

Five Places I've Been This Week

YahaDudes - I got one in duty free in Ben Gurion!

Irena Sendler Project

Pesach Art Projects

Child Restraint Laws by state

Ooh pretty

from my del.icio.us -- where have you been?

It's That Time of Year Again...

I can never quite believe that we only have 4 weeks between Purim and Pesach. It just doesn't seem fair.

And yet here we are.

Time to start cleaning, prepping, teaching, shopping, worrying...and of course, singing the Pesach songs! I have also started trying to teach the Four Questions to my 2-year-old. I figure he might be able to get the first line down. Or maybe I'm being ambitious.

I never seem to have the time to really devote to the whole process either. There's always the Quilting Retreat and the Women's Seder and just...life in between.

But this year I have a plan. I'm going to...wait for it...take some time off from work in order to prep for Pesach.

Shocking, I know.

But I think this plan can work.

Since I'm not quite ready to commit to what I'm going to make or how I'm going to make it, I'm going to ease in by beginning the process of finding all the Pesach stuff (conveniently located in boxes in the basement marked Pesach) that I will need. I thought I'd begin a sporadic series here at Ima on and off the Bima and follow my Passover Preparations for the next couple of weeks. Join me!

Let's start with the cookbooks:

My favorite Passover cookbook is
Passover Lite by Gail Ashkenazi-Hankin

It's simple, creative, and interesting. My favorite recipe is Toasted Matzah Farfel on page 72. I make at least a double batch every year. Yum!

I also like Matzah Meals, A Passover Cookbook for Kids by Judy Tabs

Plus I have a lot of printouts from the internet and copies from cookbooks that aren't devoted only to Passover. I keep all this together in a folder in one of those Passover boxes I mentioned before.

Moosewood Celebrates has a great Matzo Casserole recipe.

The Gefilte Variations has an amazing recipe for Cinnamon Matzoh Brie with Toasted Pecans and Warm Vanilla Maple Syrup. Mm...

Is anyone else wondering where jewish-food.org went to? I have a ton of great recipes from them like Farfel and Cheese (a yummy casserole that tastes like mac and cheese), Cupcake Blintzes, and like forty varieties of Passover Muffins/Popovers. But where did this site go? Good thing I've printed out my favorites.

Allrecipes.com has a great set of Pesach recipes too. Like this Spinach Frittata...yum.

Oh, and as far as recipes go, if you're really convinced that you should make your own matzah, here's a recipe.

Coming up next in the series ...favorite Passover music!

Also...if you want some resources for leading a great Seder, check out this at Amazon.

And if you're interested...
A Mother in Israel will be hosting the next Kosher Cooking Carnival on April 7, so get cooking! Topics will include Pesach recipes, kashruth on Pesach, preparing for Pesach, Purim accomplishments and recipes for getting rid of hametz. And anything else relating to kosher cooking. You can submit your own posts here, as well as any other posts you would like to recommend. Check out the most recent one, KCC #28 over at Frumhouse. Special thanks to Batya, who organizes the whole thing.

Books you may have forgotten...

I do love books.
But this meme is pretty darn silly.

Still, I've now been tagged for it *twice*! So here goes...

The closest book is: Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill by Maud Hart Lovelace.

(Before you fall out of your chair laughing, let me tell you that this series of books, if you've never heard of them before, are awesome. I loved them when I was a kid and I'm now in the joyful process of sharing with my son. This is the third in the series, and the girls get older and the series even concludes with a married Betsy, so it's not like some of those other books where the girls never grow up. AND its set in a small town in Minnesota so I always felt very close to home.)

Here are the rules:

* Pick up the nearest book of at least 123 pages.
* Open the book to page 123.
* Find the 5th sentence.
* Post the next 3 sentences.
* Tag 5 people.

They saw a cloud of dust and heard the thud of hoofs. A team of glossy white horses flashed into view. They were driven by a coachman who wore a plug hat like a coachman in a parade. A glittering open carriage swayed along the narrow street. Betsy, Tacy, and Tib glimpsed a white beard...a black veil. Here were Mr. Meecham and his daughter!
(I might have given you a couple of extra sentences there...sorry.)

I'm not sure what the purpose of this meme is but I hope, in this case, that it inspires you to go out to your nearest library and check out the Betsy-Tacy books. They are great, the first one is short and they get progressively longer. Perfect for reading aloud to your kids (or reading yourself)!

While you're at it, also look at...
All of a Kind Family
The Melendy Quartet
The Hundred Dresses
Little House on the Prairie (who could forget these, but still)
and of course, my all-time, love it love it love it favorite:
Anne of Green Gables.

Okay...so I tag:
Amy, Carissa, FrumeSarah, Harry (might give him something to post on), and EzerK...
but if you want to play along, feel free. (And if I've tagged you and you don't wanna, I'm cool with that too. I must admit, I read all your blogs but can't remember if you guys have done this one.)

Jet Lag...or, Excuses for No Haikus

Second week of two
no parsha haikus for you.
too tired to think.

its not just jet-lag
but catching up on it all
chillin' with the kids

i promise - again
i will write torah haikus
just wait til next week.

please?

see more haiku friday here.

To tide you over and make you feel better, here is a beautiful shot from my visit to Israel...taken at the southwest corner of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem...

Returning...

Coming back from Israel is always bittersweet.

I love returning to my family. I can't wait to see and hold each of them. I am glad to return, to be here where (most....) of my family is. 

But it is always jarring to me to hear English all around. To see signs in English and not Hebrew. To look around and feel reasonably sure that I'm back in the minority. To see children in baseball caps instead of kippot. To not feel a compulsion to give any young soldier a motherly kiss on the forehead (not that I saw so many soldiers in O'Hare, though). Coming back from Israel...even though this is definitely my home, I always have a hard time saying that I'm going home when I leave Israel. A piece of me is always there, my home away from home, my heart-land.

 "Wherever I go, I am going to the land of Israel." (Rebbe Nachman)

I love introducing people to this land I love so much. To see through their eyes the sights and sounds and smells, to taste anew each visit the felafel, halva, even bamba (which I'm not such a fan of, sorry Israeli friends)...as I pointed out to our group, even Coke tastes different here. The very air is different.

And I can't wait to go back.

(More Israel posts coming up with pictures and stories....stay tuned! Same blogtime, same blogchannel!)

Hot in Here!

It sure was a hot one today....

We started with an excellent discussion/lecture with Professor Reuven Hazan. He was interesting and engaging, he talked about Israel's pollitical situation today and the group was really riveted.

Then we headed for the bus...as I said beofre, we were a little delayed by Cheney's motorcade and then we were off...heading down south to the Dead Sea and Masada.

Remember, as I said yesterday, we're having a serious heatwave here. And so we went to the desert to REALLY feel the heat!:)

We got to the Dead Sea and stopped at the Hod Hotel to use their beach and changing space. We went down to the water and had a great time floating around and experiencing this marvel. Some of the kids also swam in the pool and enjoyed the sunbathing on the beach too. We had a nice lunch and then headed off to Masada, refreshed from the healing waters of the Dead Sea....

We didn't have the time to tour Masada (as I keep saying to the group - there's always more to see, always something that will keep for the next visit!) but we did what we came for - celebrated TEN Bnai Mitzvah! It was hot and sticky and crowded but it was pretty amazing to watch 9 kids and 1 adult read Torah together in Israel. It took 18 aliyot! That's a lot of Torah. It was really fantastic.

My brother was there too - he played guitar for the service and it was great to see him. (And yes mom, I gave him the stuff I was supposed to give him!)

We headed back down just before the last cable car and that was my goodbye to the group. They are heading to my favorite part of the country, the North (well, I like Jerusalem too. Perhaps, like the Torah portions, they're ALL my favorites!) and will be in Tiberias, the Golan (jeep riding and ziplining!), Tsfat and more...then Tel Aviv and then back to Chicago. I'm sure they'll have a great time (and I hear its going to cool off!!!).

I went back to Jerusalem, had dinner at my favorite restaurant - the Village Green - and then headed to the airport where I now sit, waiting for my flight. (No more motorcades, Dick left before I did.)

I could get used to this...being a regular visitor to Israel. It certainly does feel like home away from home. I'm looking forward to seeing my family, though, and catching up on life....oh wait, I'm off to quilting retreat next week....ack! Still, it's all good.

See you on the far side!